The Nazi Germany invasion of Poland began on September 1st, 1939 and is considered to be the beginning of World War II. In fact, the invasion of Poland was the result of Adolf Hitler’s expansionist policies, driven by his desire for lebensraum (living space) and the reunification of ethnic Germans. It was a continuation of his earlier territorial gains, including Austria in 1938 and Czechoslovakia in 1939. Furthermore, the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland is considered to be an example of ‘blitzkrieg‘, which means ‘lightning war’.
WHAT WAS WORLD WAR II?
Just two decades after the end of the First World War, the world again plunged into war in September of 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded the sovereign nation of Poland. World War II lasted until 1945 and included major battles in Europe, Africa and the Pacific. As well, World War II involved some of the most dramatic events in human history, including: some of the largest battles in human history, the Holocaust and the first use of atomic weaponry. Including civilian deaths and other related tragedies, it is believed that as many as 90 million people died as a result of the events of World War II.
NAZI GERMANY INVASION OF POLAND – BACKGROUND
As stated above, the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland began on September 1st, 1939 and is one of the most important events of the early years of World War II. Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, had just recently signed a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union (also known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact) and used the opportunity to invade Poland. In fact, the invasion would see Poland become split in two with one half under the control of Nazi Germany and the other under the control of the Soviet Union. Poland was created at the end of World War I out of territory that had traditionally been part of the Germany and the Austria-Hungarian Empire. Hitler sought to reclaim this territory for Germany and to unite all German-speaking people.
Germany had already annexed Austria in 1938 and taken Czechoslovakia in 1939. At the time, Britain and France were practising a strategy referred to as ‘appeasement‘, which saw the British and French essentially give in to Hitler’s demands. The hope was that if given what he wanted, then Hitler would stop his aggressive expansionist actions. However, this strategy proved to be a failure, as it allowed Nazi Germany to rebuild its territory and military capabilities throughout the 1930s. With that said, Britain and France had guaranteed Polish independence. However, in August of 1939, when Nazi Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Soviet Union, it secretly included a protocol to divide Poland between them. As such, the stage was set for the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland.
NAZI GERMANY INVASION OF POLAND – SUMMARY
Germany began its invasion on the morning of September 1st, 1939, following the ‘Gleiwitz Incident’. This incident saw German soldiers pose as Polish troops and invaded a German radio station. Naturally, the radio station reported that Germany was under attack and German citizens became fearful of a Polish attack against Germany. In reality, the Nazi’s had staged the incident to create a propaganda campaign that would favor a German attack against Poland. Hitler believed this gave him the opportunity to invade Poland, as a means of capturing more territory in Europe.
As such, on September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. In the assault, Germany mobilized over 1.5 million troops, supported by bombing runs by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), tanks, and motorized divisions. For its part, the Polish Army was ultimately ill-equipped for the onslaught. For instance, historians have noted how the Polish forces were still reliant on cavalry and outdated strategies, which made them vulnerable to Germany’s modern tactics.
German forces quickly overwhelmed the Polish defenses, bombed cities, and targeted key infrastructure and railways to disrupt any Polish resistance. Furthermore, Germany unleashed its blitzkrieg tactics during the invasion of Poland, which proved to be successful in much of the fighting of World War II. Blitzkrieg involved German tank divisions and air support overwhelming the Polish forces as they encircled and cut off the Polish troops. The point was to avoid the trench warfare stalemate of World War I. Instead, the Nazis planned to move their forces into enemy territory as quickly as possible and use the speed of attack as a strategy to overwhelm and confuse the enemy troops. This Nazi blitzkrieg strategy was devastatingly effective, causing confusion and a quick Polish retreat.
What made the situation even more difficult for Poland was the Soviet invasion of their country just two weeks later. For instance, on September 17th, 1939, the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This essentially trapped the Polish army between two fronts – Nazi Germany on one side and the Soviet Union on the other. The Soviets, under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, claimed they were protecting ethnic Ukrainians and Belarusians in Poland but were, in fact, carrying out the division of Poland with Nazi Germany.
German forces invaded from the north, south and west and quickly forced the Polish into a retreat. A series of battles followed in which Polish forces continued to struggle against the superior German assault until finally on October 6th, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union took full control over Poland. The first major conflict of World War II was over and the world was once again plunged into a world war.
The country was divided, with the western half controlled by Nazi Germany and the eastern half taken by the Soviet Union. Central Poland turned into the ‘General Government’, a Nazi-controlled zone of terror and oppression. Poland’s government fled to London, and ultimately formed a ‘government-in-exile’. Although Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3rd, they provided no direct military support to Poland during the invasion.
NAZI GERMANY INVASION OF POLAND – SIGNIFICANCE
The Nazi Germany invasion of Poland in September of 1939 was one of the most significant events of World War II. For instance, it was the event that directly led to the outbreak of World War II. Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1st, and just two days later, on September 3rd, Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany. As such, historians identify September 1st, 1939 as the start of World War II, since it caused the other major European powers to enter the conflict and led to the events of World War II.
It was one also of several events in which Nazi Germany was attempting to regain land lost after World War I as part of the Treaty of Versailles. For example, in the years before 1939, Germany had annexed Austria and taken control of Czechoslovakia. Hitler, believing that the Allied leaders would continue with their policy of appeasement, continued his aggressive action in Europe and invaded Poland. Finally, realizing their policy of appeasement had failed, Britain and France declared war on Germany for invading Poland and World War II had begun.
The occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany also led to the events of the Holocaust. For instance, Nazi Germany, under the control of the Nazi Party, established of the first ghettos and concentration camps, which set the stage for the Holocaust. Furthermore, all of the major death camps of the Holocaust were located in Poland, including: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, Chelmno and Majdanek. These camps were specifically designed for mass killing, primarily using gas chambers, and were responsible for the deaths of millions of people.
In all, the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland was a significant turning point in world history and displayed the failure of appeasement as a foreign policy.
